There is a lot of anticipation around this book so I was glad to receive an early copy from @netgalley. It certainly is topical given the #metoo campaign.

Set in a corporate office environment, The Whisper Network centres around four female characters - Sloane, Ardie, Grace and Katherine. They each have their own personal dilemmas and battles going on and I could relate to them all in different ways. I can't say I liked them all, but they were realistic of different types of personalities that exist anywhere, not just in an office.

The storyline centres around the behaviour of men in their office and the creation of a Bad Men list. The consequences of the list are severe and spiral out of control. One part I particularly noted was that there are strong male characters in this book who were proud to support their wives career goals. It brought a balance to the story and doesn't get mentioned enough.

It took me a while to get into the story, mainly given how many characters there are and trying to work out the dynamics between them all. The reason I kept going was the court hearings in between chapters which gave glimpses and clues about what had happened and I really wanted to unravel the story.

I can see this being made into a film. There is so much in this story for people to debate and think about. As the author mentions in her notes, this will be " a novel that continues to evolve with the conversation".

#libraryatsevern #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #igreads #bookshelf #goodreads #thewhispernetwork #netgalley

I appreciate the subject matter is on trend and important but perhaps now being away from the office environment none of it seemed interesting. I failed to be entertained by the humour either so just not a hit with me.

Big Little Lies meets The Good Wife, The Whisper Network was absolutely enthralling. This book perfectly encapsulates the #MeToo era and the complexities involved for woman everywhere, particularly within high-performance corporate environments. I felt equally gripped by all of the characters, they were thoughtful, well-developed and most importantly, flawed. I found myself tearing through this novel and would highly recommend to everyone I know!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book.

I didn't like this book, it was not written to a style that to me read well. I did enjoy the twisted ending enough to give it two stars.

Really good. It reminded me of Big Little Lies in a good way, with strong female characters and a good plot. The legal setting and ‘interlude’ chapters worked very well. I would recommend this.

I think we all do stupid things in our late teens, things that we want to forget, to have never happened. Things we would never share with anyone...especially if, strictly speaking, they crossed the line into illegal or hurtful.

Spike and Scott crossed many lines but Katherine, aka Spike, is safe. Scott died in Nebraska and no one else knows how she really spent her university years.

Or so she thought.

This was a page turner. Swapping between then and now and a major police inquiry threatening Katherine's perfect life.

Karma is a bitch.

A very apt, of the moment novel. In the wake of the MeToo movement, this book couldn’t have come at a more correct time. Based on the lives of women in an office, where their inscrutable boss is about to be promoted to head of the whole company, the women decide enough is enough- but the consequences of this are far reaching and affect all of them in various ways, not always positive. A bit of a peek from behind your cushion, car crash, of a novel, the book is fantastic and so well written.

I loved Whisper Network. If you got annoyed at the election of Brett Kavanaugh, or love Big Little Lies, this is the story for you.
Sloane, Ardie, Grace and Rosalita work for a big company. They all have secrets they are ashamed of, and they are not a supportive sisterhood.
Their boss is the toxic and predatory Ames, and he has been bad news for all of them in different ways.
Like a serious version of the film 9 to 5, the women decide to do something about Ames, with serious consequences.

Whisper Network is an extremely important novel that looks at everyday sexism, misogyny, and gender inequality, particularly in the workplace. With the recent Me Too movement, it feels extremely timely. Perhaps most worrying is how commonplace some of the events in the novel seem.
I loved the way in which the women at the centre of the novel banded together. These are flawed characters who are experiencing the usual ups and downs that life presents, and it made them easy to relate to.

A topical read relevant to the #metoo movement. A gripping read revolving around women, power, sexism in the workplace. Enjoyable read and highly recommended.

If you are a fan of the novel 'Big, Little Lies' then you will love this. It's a story of female comradery, motherhood, power and fighting for justice.

It begins with a death. Three witness statements reveal that an unknown person has jumped off of a building during the busy lunch rush. Chapter One then takes us back to two months prior to 'The Day it began'. The CEO Desmond Bankhole is found dead one morning due to a heart attack. There is talk that Ames Garrett may take over the role of CEO. Although Ames is a married man, it is rumoured that he is a sexual predator and is placed on the BAD man list (a list of male co workers to avoid). The novel follows four powerful, strong women as they try to fight for their rights within the work place and protect others from the sexual harassment of the males surrounding them.

There was a lot going on in this novel. Very up to date with lots of topical issues from the Me Too movement through to postpartum depression and gender equality. It was fast paced, cleverly written and oozing with 'girl power'!

I loved how the chapters alternated through the different characters, witness statements and deposition transcripts. The characters were larger than life and extremely realistic. I enjoyed the suspense of finding out who the 'suicide victim' was and then discovering more about their last movements. I loved how the characters' lives entwined and how they all had secrets. Although I have never worked in an office, I know how powerful whispers amongst colleagues can be and I really did feel I was there alongside Ardie, Sloane and Grace.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for my copy in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend reading it.

Chandler Baker has written an unflinching must read novel for our times, for every generation of women and girls of a family and perhaps, even more pertinent, for every man and boy to read. In this story, we are immersed into our #MeToo contemporary world, set in Dallas, and the Truviv corporation, and its power structures, politics and culture. Four women, Ardie, Sloane and Grace, in house lawyers in the department of North American Legal Affairs, and cleaner Rosalita, a single mom with young son, Saloman, have worked for the company for years. Their world is rocked when the current CEO, Desmond Bankole dies suddenly, leaving a vacuum at the top, there are whispers that their boss, the General Counsel, Ames Garrett, is the man most likely to succeed as CEO. Perturbed by this possibility and the entry of a new woman into the department, Katherine Bell and her experiences, the women embark on a series of actions that is to have their lives begin to catastrophically unravel after a death.

Interwoven into the narrative are snippets of depositions, cross-examinations, and police interviews. Circulating below the radar in Dallas are rumours of a online network list compiled by women for women of men to beware of. Having put up with the arrogant Ames, a manipulative and underhand man, the women have finally reached the point where enough is enough. They are a close knit group of women, flawed, but supportive of each other, although their relationships with each other do experience the occasional bad patch. Sloane's young socially awkward daughter, Abigail, is being bullied at school and on social media, and Abigail's treatment by senior staff at her school outlines just how differently girls are treated in comparison to boys. When it comes to protecting her daughter, Sloane is a fierce and formidable force of nature. The police entertain and probe the possibility that a death is murder, and the women find themselves facing a nightmare of a public and corporate PR backlash, one which threatens to destroy and impoverish them in a twisted tale that includes secrets, sexism, discrimination, harrassment, and sexual abuse.

Baker provides a plethora of rich descriptions and commentary of what women face in corporate environments, a chorus of voices based on real life facts, the whole shebang of real life horrors. Then there are the details of what happens to a woman's body and mental health after giving birth through the character of Grace. There will be recognition of much of what is laid out in the narrative, it is disturbing just how much of it will resonate, mitigated only slightly by the support found in other courageous women. Baker does not shy away from the reality of how some women can make an unbearable situation experienced by other women so much worse. Perhaps the scariest and most unsettling aspect is laid out in just how early negative experiences can be embedded in women with the portrayal of young Abigail's treatment by her school. This is a smart, thought provoking, and uneasy read, celebrating women's supportive friends and networks, the problems they face negotiating the minefield that is corporate culture and the men that would exploit and take advantage of them. A brilliant and relevant read, part thriller, that additionally outlines the impossible pressures society, corporations and woman put on themselves to be perfect, without a doubt this a book that I recommend highly. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

I was completely gripped by this book, although it took me a while to get into, partly because the American names were so confusing. Having worked in a very toxic legal environment (although nothing like as bad as the one depicted in the book) I completely recognised the politics and power-play involved, and the way in which women are only appreciated if they become like men (whilst still going to huge lengths to make themselves appear well-groomed and attractive). The storyline was gripping, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I am sorry, this is just not my type of book. I could not get past the writing style. I know the topics in the book are very relevant and current but I still found myself struggling to keep reading. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A fast paced and a real relevant read full of the #metoo movement. I can see why this book has been talked about and recommended so much. It was a thilling read. i would recommend

The women protagonists in theis novel all work at TRuVIv a sportswear brand based in Dallas as in house counsel on big salaries. The CEO of the company dies and his likely replacement is Ames, a man whom they have all had contact with that has blurred the lines. When someone starts a viral BAD men of Dallas list (of male co workers to avoid) his ex lover (who now wonders if their affair wasn't as consensual as she had supposed) is tempted to add his name in an effort to warn a new hire of Ames's whom he seems to be taking rather too much of an interest in. Her actions and dragging her co worker close friends into the storm looks like a good idea until their plans go awry and they come under suspicion for a death.

This is a busy book, dealing with the Metoo# movement, the difficulties faced by women in the workplace (when do you put up with a bit of "horseplay", or call it out and face being the one censured instead), it also explores how women betray each other and delves into the side issue of a daughter being bullied and harassed at school, it also explores what it feels like to be a returning mother with a young baby and the front you have to muster at work pretending it ain't so. It also looks at what can happen in a relationship if the woman earns 3 times that of the man, does she start to take on male attiudes to "my money". The life of a cleaner in the company , their poor pay and working conditions is also touched upon as she is dragged into the situation.

I enjoyed this book but felt it was a bit too cluttered and wanted to tacle too many issues so lacked focus and the ending was a bit rushed. I also found that getting the players names into my head at the start was difficult. The narrative was in the past then cut to snippets of depositions and interviews with the police and lawyers where surnames were used but the charcaters were referred to by their forenames in the past which was confusing. Also a scenario would start but it was unclear who was involved until the end of the page or perhaps the next one. Some of the charcters had androgonous names such as Sloane, Ardie, Ames so this also added to the confusion until I had embedded who they were. I'm glad I stuck with it but felt this made in unnecessarily hard on the reader.

This is a very timely novel about what happens when women start pushing back against sexist and abusive behaviour in their workplace. I liked the fact that their reactions were complicated and occasionally inconsistent or selfish, so it doesn't read as some transparent moral crusade but as an exploration of female friendship, and the roles women have been forced into over the years that are now starting to be resisted.

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. I am three-quarters of the way through and cannot put it down. The writing is absolutely brilliant and I adore so many aspects of this book. The central mystery of Ames, plus the 'me too' aspect of the story is really well done and left me guessing at all times plus I thought the way that Chandler wrote about the struggles of women in the workplace - as well as working mothers going back to work - was totally spot-on and couldn't have been portrayed in a better way. Chandler really gets the toxic office culture that puts so many women under pressure. A fabulous, fabulous book. Will recommend this to everyone!

Not my usual genre but WOW what a read.
Very topical at the moment, we have all heard and read about the ME TOO movement.
A thought provoking read on what women put up with when they have a sexist boss or even a sexist husband. Women are not an inferior species we do have brains. Women are finally crashing through the glass ceiling and some men still cannot accept it. This is a book for the woman of today. I LOVED IT!!!!!
An easy five stars and so Highly Recommended.
I would like to thank the author, Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

A rapid and relevant read with echoes of the #metoo movement. I can see why this book has been talked about and recommended. It was a cracking read.